Gigi Edgley (born 16 November 1977) is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as
Chiana on the series ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was ...
'' and Lara Knight in ''
Rescue: Special Ops''.
Early life
Edgley was born in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. She is the daughter of theatre, concert and circus promoter
Michael Edgley
Edgley International is a theatre and concert promotions company from Australia, first started in the 1930s and run by several generations.
It has also been known as Edgley & Dawe Attractions, Edgley Ventures, and Michael Edgley Internationa ...
, known for bringing the
Moscow State Circus to Australia during the 1980s. Her mother, Jeni Edgley, was formerly involved in managing a 250-acre (101 hectare) health retreat. As a child, Gigi Edgley performed both in and out of school. She also took several years of ballet, jazz, and character dance. She became mainly interested in acting and had her first professional theatrical engagement at the Twelfth Night Theatre. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The unive ...
in 1998. As a believer in the school of
method acting
Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
, Gigi has developed a broad set of skills and experiences for her roles. Edgley is proficient in ballet,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
character dance
Character dance is a specific subdivision of classical dance. It is the stylized representation of a traditional folk or national dance, mostly from European countries, and uses movements and music which have been adapted for the theater.
Char ...
, singing, and martial arts. Her signature skill is
fire-twirling
Fire performance is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire. Fire performance typically involves equipment or other objects made with one or more wicks which are designed to sustain a large enough flam ...
.
Career
Acting
Edgley's early TV and film work included several independent productions (with later Farscape co-star
Anthony Simcoe
Anthony Simcoe (born 7 June 1969) is an Australian actor, known for his portrayal of Steve Kerrigan in the 1997 film '' The Castle'' and Ka D'Argo in the science fiction television series ''Farscape''.
The 1.98m (6 ft 6 in) Simcoe is a gr ...
), as well as a guest star spot on the popular Australian series ''
Water Rats'' and a role in Australian film titled ''
The Day of the Roses
''The Day of the Roses'' is a two-part Australian television mini-series, a docu-drama directed by Peter Fisk, based on the events of the 1977 Granville railway disaster. The film was made in 1998 and runs over 3.5 hours. Described as "a dramat ...
''.
Edgley is best known for her role as
Chiana on the science fiction TV series ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was ...
''. Originally, she was hired for only one episode, and her character was supposed to die at the end of the hour. The creators decided to keep her around for a few more episodes. At the beginning of Season 2, she was promoted to be a regular on the show. She appeared in total of 68 episodes of the series. Her character's nickname (
Pip) was actually coined by her co-star
Ben Browder
Robert Benedict Browder (born December 11, 1962) is an American actor, writer and film director, known for his roles as John Crichton in ''Farscape'' and Cameron Mitchell in '' Stargate SG-1''.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Browder ...
.
Between seasons, Edgley has appeared in other guest starring roles on TV, including the popular internationally aired series
''The Lost World'' and ''
BeastMaster'' (returning for a second guest starring role), has undertaken some independent film work, was cast in a feature film (pulled due to production and schedule reasons), and read a starring role in an audio drama for Seeing Ear Theatre.
After ''Farscape'', Edgley pursued other projects including a role in the Australian drama telefilm ''
BlackJack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...
'' with
Colin Friels
Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV and film and presenter
Early life
Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television) ...
. She joined the cast of Australian drama series ''
The Secret Life of Us
''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...
'' in 2003 and ''
Stingers'' in 2004.
Edgley returned as Chiana in the SciFi Channel miniseries ''
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars'' in 2004.
In 2006 Edgley starred as the female lead in critically acclaimed Australian Drama/Thriller ''
Last Train to Freo''. Her role was nominated for a Best Actress in a Lead Role by the
Film Critics Circle of Australia
The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...
. She also had a minor supporting role in the 2007
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...
TV miniseries ''
The Starter Wife''. She had a leading role in three seasons of ''
Rescue: Special Ops'' from 2009. In 2018, she appeared in the film
''Diminuendo'' opposite
Richard Hatch.
She frequently appears at science fiction conventions and gives interviews to many magazines and radio stations around the world.
Music
Edgley recorded a music single titled "Poison" with recording artist n8. The song is available as streaming audio on her webpage in the music section. She also appeared in a music video for the song "When You Get to California" (2004) by Australian rock group
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...
.
In July 2007, Edgley began recording with Seattle-based artist/producer Kyle Stevens and writing songs for a new music release. At Farscape Con in November 2007, Gigi released "...SO IT SEEMS", a five song E.P. produced and co-written with Kyle. Edgley has recorded ''Fall'', ''
Ftang!'', and ''
Blue Sky Thoughts''.
Other appearances and achievements
Edgley was featured in several printed magazines. Most notably, she appeared nude in the Issue 49 (February 2001) of the popular Australian magazine
Black+White
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
. She was also on the cover of the ''
FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
'' magazine in December 2003 and the cover of the US version of the
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corporat ...
(29 July – 4 August 2000 issue).
Edgley was ''Yen Magazine's'' ambassador for the 2006 ''Pantene Young Woman of the Year Awards''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music credits
* Vocal work on a single ''Poison'' by N8
* Starred in a video for ''When You Get To California'' by
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...
Awards
* 2006 –
Film Critics Circle of Australia
The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...
Award Nomination for Best Actress in a motion picture (''Last Train to Freo'')
* 2003 – SyFy Genre Award for Best Supporting Actress (Television)
* 2002 – Saturn Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series (''Farscape'')
* 2001 – Maxim Award Nomination for Sexiest Space Babe (Television)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgley, Gigi
1977 births
Living people
Australian television actresses
Queensland University of Technology alumni
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers